Short of Time

I would like to ask and enquire how other practitioners are able to incorporate bhakti yoga into there current life.

I am self employed and do quite long hours , from 7am till 6pm 5-6 days a week. I also only really am able to get devotee association once a week by going to a programme

In the past i have tried to live in temples but i found it too much so i know that is not the answer. In any case Krsna said to Arjuna "think of me in the form of krsna and at same time carry out your prescribed duty of fighting.."

It just seems very difficult to be both a bhakti yogi and also pay the bills and run a business.

Replies to This Discussion

Dear Prabhuji - We can only start from "where we are" today. Our mind is soaked into the thoughts of "I" and "mine" over countless iteration of birth and death, so it is not easy to get out of it. Chanting, reading scriptures & devotee association will slowly get us to the path of realization that "body" is not self and what ever is related/possessed through body is not "ours'". The more we realize, we would be able to see self (Aatma) away from mind & body and all the work we do is only for 'body' maintenance. We can feel this realization "while" at work (itself) so our attachment towards the "outcome" will start fading away and we will focus more on "serving" the lord through ways that acharyas have prescribed.

Chanting is prescribed to be the "lifeline" of bakti yoga and the rest of the services will follow (the chanting) naturally.

You commented in another discussion on 11.51-52. This translation is correct. Arjuna is seeing the 2 handed form and not the 4 handed form at this point. The 2 handed form is more rare than the 4 handed form, since Krishna only appears once in a daytime of Brahma (every 8,64 billion years) in His 2 handed form. The 2 handed form is difficult to behold, since it's very rarely seen.

some quick tips to accommodate bhakthi in your day - (please try and accommodate depending on your situation)

1. wake up early - bath, do mangala arati and chant ONE round.

2. during your break times - read Gita on your mobile while you eat or if you finish quickly, chant ONE round.

3. after you are home - refresh and do evening arati, offer milk to the lordships, chant ONE round or read Gita from the book. Or you can attend the arati at the temple if you have the option to visit one in your suburb or nearest.

4. after dinner - chant ONE round.

5. if you are currently watching tv, stop that and read or chant couple of rounds.

These activities, shouldnt affect your current routine nor affect in paying your bills and run a business. If you have a family and young kids, then you can alter the above 4 to an extent that you can still follow 1 or 2.

The point is, do SOMETHING for krsna and krsna will do everything for you to progress towards Him. Bhakthi can be accommodated into our current routine, no matter how busy we are. Just like how we try and find time to play with our kids even if we are super busy, we have to take a similar approach and try and make some time for our spiritual life too.

Bg 3.9

Work done as a sacriﬁce for Viṣṇu has to be performed; otherwise work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain free from bondage.

Purport:

Since one has to work even for the simple maintenance of the body, the prescribed duties for a particular social position and quality are so made that that purpose can be fulﬁlled.Yajñameans Lord Viṣṇu, or sacriﬁcial performances. All sacriﬁcial performances also are meant for the satisfaction of Lord Viṣṇu. TheVedasenjoin:yajño vai viṣṇuḥ.In other words, the same purpose is served whether one performs prescribedyajñasor directly serves Lord Viṣṇu. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is therefore performance ofyajñaas it is prescribed in this verse. Thevarṇāśramainstitution also aims at satisfying Lord Viṣṇu.Varṇāśramācāravatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān/ viṣṇur ārādhyate(Viṣṇu Purāṇa3.8.8).

Therefore one has to work for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu. Any other work done in this material world will be a cause of bondage, for both good and evil work have their reactions, and any reaction binds the performer. Therefore, one has to work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness to satisfy Kṛṣṇa (or Viṣṇu); and while performing such activities one is in a liberated stage. This is the great art of doing work, and in the beginning this process requires very expert guidance. One should therefore act very diligently, under the expert guidance of a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, or under the direct instruction of Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself (under whom Arjuna had the opportunity to work). Nothing should be performed for sense gratiﬁcation, but everything should be done for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. This practice will not only save one from the reaction of work, but also gradually elevate one to transcendental loving service of the Lord, which alone can raise one to the kingdom of God.

I understand your predicament. Most of us are faced with the same dilemma - how to integrate Krsna Conscoiousness into our lives seamlessly.

The trick is to be very strict in our personal sadhana. If possible, get up in the morning and chant 16 rounds before the rest of the family wakes up. No restrictions of taking bath even. Just chant. Even mangalarati can be forgone until you are comfortable to chant. If this is not possible, then you follow what Krsna Dasa prabhuji has mentioned.

Even while working, we have some breathing space. We do not have the same level of concentration all the hours, I am sure. Those are the times I am on this website. I even chant on my laptop, so that colleagues do not know what I am doing. I open an excel sheet, use the coloumns for no of rounds and rows for no of times in a round. Keep writing HK everytime i chant once. This way, even if there is a break in the middle of a round, the count remains and I can pick up chanting from where I left. Not ideal, but I consider it better than not completing my rounds.

Travel time can be utilised to hear lectures/ kirtan in the car or on headphones.

Reading also, try to incorporate to the extent possible. It is a good habit to read everyday Srila Prabhupada books.